Guide for plan members

Public Service Pension Plan is committed to helping you make the most of your pension. This guide is a provincial requirement. Please use the links at right to explore the topics most relevant to you.

Inflation adjustments

Your monthly pension payment may increase as a result of an annual inflation adjustment. This adjustment may be added to your pension to help it keep pace with increases in the cost of living over time.

Inflation adjustments are not guaranteed. They are based on:

• Changes in the Canadian consumer price index (CPI) over a 12-month period from November to October
• The funds available in the inflation adjustment account of BC's Public Service Pension Plan

Both active members and employers contribute to the inflation adjustment account. Part of the employers' contributions helps pay for retirement group health benefits. The remaining employer contributions are deposited to the account and, together with active member contributions and investment returns, pay for inflation adjustments.

Each year, the Public Service Pension Board of Trustees reviews any changes in CPI and the available funds in the inflation adjustment account. If the board grants an inflation adjustment, it will take effect in January.

Once an inflation adjustment is granted, it becomes part of your basic lifetime pension. The inflation adjustment is also applied to the bridge benefit and the temporary annuity portion of your pension, if applicable.

In your first year of retirement, your inflation adjustment is pro-rated according to the number of months you’ve been retired.

See the most-recent winter issue of Pension Life to find out if an inflation adjustment will be applied and, if so, its percentage. You can check your January pension statement to find out how this inflation adjustment will affect your monthly pension payment for the coming year.

Inflation adjustment history

Retirement health coverage and you

When you retire, any extended health care and dental coverage you were receiving through your employer will stop. However, you can apply for extended health care and dental coverage when you apply for your pension.

This optional coverage is provided through the plan’s insurance carrier, Green Shield Canada, and gives you access to competitive group rates. With extended health care coverage, you may also be eligible for subsidized monthly premiums based on your years of pensionable service.

Your spouse and/or eligible dependants can also be covered under the extended health care and dental plans.

If you do not enrol when you apply for your pension, you cannot enrol later on unless you've had continuous coverage in a different extended health care and/or dental plan since your retirement date.

You may also be eligible for subsidized group life insurance coverage. For more information, contact your employer or BC Public Service Agency's MyHR toll-free at 1-877-277-0772.

Extended health care

This supplemental plan extends your medical coverage beyond that provided by the Medical Services Plan of BC and other provincial health plans. It covers the cost of prescription drugs, vision care, hearing aids, medical aids and supplies, as well as some services.

There are monthly premiums, yearly deductibles and lifetime limits associated with the extended health care plan.

The Public Service Pension Plan subsidizes the cost of monthly premiums based on your years of service. The subsidy is not guaranteed and can be changed or eliminated at any time. The plan does not subsidize the cost of monthly premiums for your spouse and/or eligible dependant(s).

Dental care

If you enrol in the dental plan, you are eligible to be reimbursed for costs associated with preventive and restorative dental services. There are two dental plans to choose from, with different premiums, deductibles and eligible services for each.

The Public Service Pension Plan does not subsidize the cost of the dental plan’s monthly premiums.

How premiums are paid

You must pay monthly premiums to receive extended health care and dental coverage. Premiums are deducted from your pension payment. If your pension is not large enough, you can arrange to pay Green Shield Canada directly through pre-authorized debit.

These benefits are not guaranteed

The extended health care and dental coverage offered by the Public Service Pension Plan is not guaranteed, and coverage may change – your coverage, premiums and deductibles may increase, decrease or be eliminated.

Returning to work after retirement

You may decide to return to work after you have retired and are receiving a pension from BC’s Public Service Pension Plan. In this case, you will continue to receive your pension.

If you start working for an employer that is participating in the plan, inform your employer that you are a retired plan member. This will ensure that your employer does not re-enrol you in the plan and deduct pension contributions from your pay.

If your new employer does not participate in the Public Service Pension Plan, you may be eligible to contribute to your new employer’s pension plan, if it has one. Talk to your new employer for details.

Returning to work for a plan employer within the 30 days following your pension effective date

You are not considered retired if you return to work for an employer participating in the plan and all the following applies:

• You have not received your first pension payment
• You are within the 30 days following your pension effective date
• Your new position requires you to participate in the plan

In this case, you are not eligible to receive your pension and must resume contributing to the plan. You will not qualify for group extended health care (EHC) or dental coverage for retired members through the plan, although you may be eligible for these benefits through your employer.

When you retire, you will need to reapply for your pension and any EHC or dental coverage.

Death and your pension

The type and amount of any death benefit depends on:

• Your age when you die
• Whom you named as beneficiaries
• Whether you die before or after starting your pension

Shortened life expectancy

If you are an active member of the plan and have a shortened life expectancy, you may be able to access your pension early. Contact the plan for more information.

If you die after you start receiving your pension

The pension option you chose when you retired determines what happens next. The type and amount of a death benefit depends on whether you:

• Chose a single-life or joint-life pension option
• Chose a guarantee period
• Died before or after a guarantee period

Examples:

• If you chose a single life pension with a guarantee period, and you die before that period expires, your monthly pension will continue to be paid to your beneficiaries until the end of the guarantee period. Alternatively, your beneficiaries may choose to receive a lump-sum payment.
• If you chose a joint life pension with a guarantee period, and you die before the guarantee period expires, your full monthly pension will be paid to your spouse until the end of the guarantee period, after which the joint life percentage you selected will be paid to your spouse for their lifetime.

If your beneficiary is an organization, any remaining monthly pension payments will be paid to the organization as a lump sum.

Your spouse and dependent children may be eligible for extended health care and dental coverage through the plan after your death. Certain conditions apply, and coverage is not guaranteed.

If you die before you start receiving your pension

If you die before you retire, your beneficiaries will be paid a death benefit.

Your spouse is automatically your beneficiary unless they waived their right to a pre-retirement death benefit. If your spouse is your beneficiary, their options depend on your age when you die:

• If you die before your earliest retirement age (under 55 for most members or 50 those working in designated public safety occupations), your spouse may choose:
  • an immediate monthly pension, payable for their lifetime
  • a lump-sum payment equal to the value of your contributions with interest, or the lump-sum commuted value of your pension, whichever is greater
    The commuted value of your pension is the amount of money the pension plan would need to put aside today, at current interest rates, to pay for your future pension at retirement.
• If you die after your earliest retirement age, your spouse is only eligible to receive an immediate monthly pension, payable for their lifetime

If you do not have a spouse or your spouse has waived their right to a pre-retirement death benefit, your beneficiaries will receive a lump-sum death benefit equal to the greater of:

• Your contributions with interest
• The lump-sum commuted value of your pension
  The commuted value of your pension is the amount of money the pension plan would need to put aside today, at current interest rates, to pay for your future pension at retirement.

If you do not have a spouse and have not named a beneficiary through the plan or in your will, the benefit is paid to your estate.

When paying death benefits to a former spouse, we follow the terms in your signed separation agreement or registered court order.